Appalachian
by JillRJohnson
Summary: AU  There are only two sisters, Piper and Prue. This is a very VERY dark story, read at your own risk. Piper tells Prue the story of what happened in the weeks that she was taken. Who were they? What did they do?


Author's note: This fic DOES contain violence, and sexual assault. Don't read it if you can't handle it.

Author's note 2: This was actually the beginning of a non-Charmed fic that I had started a while ago. I just found it in some files on my computer and thought I'd make it a Charmed story. It's alternate reality. There are just two sisters, Prue and Piper. The family is different. They have their mom and dad, some aunts and uncles, and two older brothers. It's a non-Charmed story with charmed characters. No magic included. Anyway…here goes:

**Appalachian **

Part 1

"Prue, the whole thing was horrid. It was one long, continuous nightmare. There was nothing anyone could do to help me. I couldn't even help myself. That is what is the worst thing about it all. I had no control over what was done to me. All I could do was just try to survive the best that I could. So here I am. As incomplete as I am talking to you about things that I don't, can't go over again in my head."

"You have to get it out of your head Piper or else whoever you were with will continue to control you even though they aren't here."

Piper looked at her older sister. Prue was always so protective of Piper. She had always been that way. Even when they were younger playing on the playground Prue never let Piper swing too high or get picked on by the bigger kids. Piper wiped away the tear that fell silently down her cheek. She wanted to tell Prue everything that had happened.

"I was beaten and things you can't imagine happened Prue. Your precious little Piper doesn't really exist anymore. I can't be sweet and innocent anymore because it was taken in a flash."

"Piper why don't you listen to me when I tell you how much I love you? You will always be my precious little sister no matter what happens or happened. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will or can change that. I will always be here for you. I will be here when you get ready to talk. That means tonight, tomorrow, next week or three years from now. Whatever you need from me I am here for you."

"Let's just go down to dinner for now. They're all waiting down there. I want to make this as painless as possible for all of them. I know they want answers to questions that I am completely not ready to deal with. So let's put on our happy faces and go."

Piper looked at Prue's hand as it stopped her.

"I just wanted to tell you really quickly that I think you are the single bravest and strongest person I have ever known. And I love you."

Piper nodded as they walked out the door together.

What had she seen while she was away? What had she been through? Prue sat across the table from her younger sister. The family had gathered at their house to welcome back the girl they had thought that they had lost. But there she sat. Piper. The girl sat with a faux smile on her face. Prue had talked with Piper about what she had seen, and from what her sister had told Prue there was nothing to be smiling about. Of course, Prue knew that Piper's smile was a forced one. She knew that Piper would never want the rest of the family to see her as upset as she had gotten when talking to Prue. Prue looked again at that beautiful face with the sad eyes. Piper looked at her too.

Somehow, Prue knew that Piper needed to get out of the house for just a few minutes.

"Hey, Pipe, why don't you and I go to the store and get some more ice cream for dessert?"

Piper nodded and excused herself from the table quietly. The family, who had been covering the awkwardness with meaningless rambling, stopped talking all at once and stared at Prue as if she had taken their child from them. Their aunts, uncles, parents, and two older brothers sat with questioning eyes.

"She'll be okay. We're just going to the store for a few minutes. Piper needs some fresh air. It'll do her some good."

"Why don't you let me take her?" Prue's mother, Patty, said as she stood from the table.

"No, Mom. Piper doesn't need a lot of coddling right now. She needs some of her questions answered and I can help her."

"Patty, let Prue talk with Piper. If she can, it can only help her."

Their father had been worried since the night Piper had disappeared, and the deep line of worry that stretched across his forehead had not disappeared yet. His youngest daughter had not spoken one word to him or her mother since she had come home three days earlier, after having been in the hospital for two days. The only person she seemed to communicate with was Prue.

Prue helped Piper put her coat on over her bandaged ribs. During her absence they had been broken. Prue did not know how but knew that Piper had to talk about it.

The night was cold and the wind bit at Prue's ears. Piper was quiet inside the car as they pulled into the store parking lot. Prue put the car in park, rolled up the windows and left the engine running. She turned to Piper to ask her about the kidnapping but Piper looked out the window.

"Okay, why don't you just sit right here while I get the ice cream."

"No, Prue, please don't leave me."

"Pipe, I'm just going inside. I'll be right back. Lock the doors."

"Please, Prue. Let me go with you."

Prue saw what she thought was terror in Piper's eyes. Tears shimmered at the rims of the deep browns. Piper was grasping Prue's arm. Prue was holding Piper's hand.

"Talk to me Piper. Tell me what was so terrifying. Look at you. You have never been this scared in your life. Suddenly you can't even sit in a car outside the grocery store by yourself. It's as if you are three years old instead of nineteen. What is it?"

"It's dark."

"It's dark? That's your reasoning?"

"Please don't make me explain."

"What did they do to you?"

"Nothing."

"You have to tell someone, and soon. If you don't, you will be afraid of the dark for the rest of your life."

"Can I just go inside and get the ice cream with you?"

"Of course you can."

Prue squeezed Piper's hand gently as to tell her that she was only worried about her and not disappointed in her. They walked into the store and picked up some chocolate ice cream. As they were standing in the express line, Prue noticed Piper's hands were shaking. That is when Prue saw how close to Piper the man behind them was standing. Prue thought to herself how badly Piper was shivering and she knew it was not just from the cold air that whipped around the building outside. Piper's face was pale and she looked to Prue as though she was going to cry.

Leaning her head next to Piper's, Prue whispered, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll be fine."

"That's the first time I have heard you say that. Don't want to get into it here huh?"

"We can talk in the car. I'll tell you everything then."

"Deal."

They paid for the ice cream drove home dropped it off in the kitchen and then told the family that they were going for a drive. At first their mother was hesitant about letting them go, but their father told her that they were grown women and that she could not live for them the rest of her life. Besides, he whispered, it could help Piper. Everyone was only interested in making sure that Piper survived what ever it was that had happened.

In the car Piper and Prue drove toward the interstate. Prue glanced at Piper waiting for her to start her tale of terror. Piper looked as though she was ready to open her mouth but words were not flowing.

"Piper, just start from wherever you can, okay. I know you told the police that you can't remember everything that happened but I think you do. I know whatever did happen was hard on you so if you can't talk about it with me then I'll understand."

Through tears that had suddenly started flowing, Piper spoke.

"You are the only person I can talk to."

She sat silently for a few minutes and then she began.

"The night I was taken I had been waiting for Melissa outside the theater. We were going to see a movie that Friday afternoon. It was pretty cold outside so I got into the car with the heat on. The doors weren't locked. I didn't think they needed to be in the middle of the day at a place as nice as the Towers. I was listening to a song on the radio. Anyway, the door opened. I thought it was Melissa. It wasn't."

Prue could see the change in Piper's face. A coldness that swam in pain and humiliation covered the face that not longer than a month ago was dedicated to the warmest, brightest smile.

"Piper, just take your time please. Don't think that you have to tell it all to me tonight."

"I think I have to. I thought it was Melissa, but when I looked up it was a man. He was so horrible. He smelled of alcohol and smoke. He smiled and he was missing his front tooth. He looked as though he hadn't shaved in weeks. His hair was greasy and dirty, and when he spoke I could tell he wasn't very well educated. He told me to start the car. I tried to open my door and get out but I couldn't because he grabbed my arm and put a knife against my throat."

Prue looked at a fading scratch on Piper's throat.

"He cut me then, just barely, but enough to make me understand that if I tried to get out of the car again he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I started the car. He told me to drive to the back of the theater. I thought he was going to take me there rob me and leave me for dead. I wish he had."

A single tear fell gently down Piper's cheek. Prue thought of Piper as an elegant princess who had been through the war of her life. As much as she had been through Piper still was beautiful, if not more so.

"When we got to the back of the theater there was a truck parked there. It was a raggedy old pick-up with the license plate covered with mud. There were two other men in the pick up. They came to the car and pulled me out. They dragged me to the truck and put me into it in between them. They looked similar to the first man. They were dirty and smelled. One had blonde hair, long, down to his shoulders. He had a beard that matched the color of his hair. The third was dark-haired like the first. I found out later that they were brothers. The second guy was a cousin. The first one's name was Tucker, they called him Tuck. The second guy was Billy. The third, and the oldest, was Brad. I found out all of this on the drive to Georgia. That's how my car got to that gas station. Tucker followed them in my car. They left my car at the station and then Tuck crammed himself in next to Billy. Brad was driving."

"What was the drive like? What sort of things did they say?"

Tears fell harder from Piper's beautiful eyes as she thought of the ride from the station to the cabin in the woods.

"Prue it was horrible. They grabbed at me and made fun of me. Told me I was 'just a rich girl waiting for three backwoods boys to come and tear into her.' I swear to you Prue it was the most horrible three weeks of my life."

"I can't even begin to pretend that I comprehend what happened to you, or that I understand what you went through. I know that you must be the bravest, strongest person on the earth to go through three weeks of Hell and still be sane."

"Sometimes I don't feel sane. The things that went on in those woods, in that cabin."

"If you can't talk about them…"

"I have to Prue. I can't just have nightmares about them anymore, because if I do I am letting them control me still."

Piper looked off far into the distance, to another place, to another time.

**_Brad dragged her from the cab of the truck. Piper was crying as he threw her face-down on the ground. Tucker pulled rope from the back of the truck and tied her hands so tightly that her wrists burned. She tried to wiggle them in order to loosen them but Tucker slammed his foot down on her back. The pain shot through Piper's head forcing her to cry out._**

****

**_Tucker bent closely to her face, "You make another sound and I'll give you a reason to cry."_**

****

**_He kissed her cheek and Piper flinched from his breath and violation of her personal space._**

****

**_"Hey Tuck, why don't you leave our little princess here alone? We'll have fun with her later. Right now you and I have to go fetch some dinner. Brad'll see to it _****_that she is properly stored."_**

****

**_"Aw, Billy man come on, just a little touch or two?"_**

****

**_"Brad will you control your brother. Tell him that we have special plans for our little girlie girl here."_**

****

**_"Tuck. You don't touch her no more. We do have special plans. Tomorrow's the night that you become a man. We'll have tradition and until then you will not have her. Is that understood?"_**

****

**_Tucker pulled Piper to her feet. He pushed her forward to the cabin. They led her inside and then down some stairs into a dark, dank cellar. They handcuffed her feet to a pipe that ran from the wall into the ground. Billy and Tucker walked up the stairs as Brad stayed behind to show Piper where all her belongings were._**

****

**_"Please explain to me what is going on here sir, please. Are you going to hurt me?"_**

****

**_"No ma'am. You are here to be Tucker's woman. See here, we have lived in these woods for all our life. Tucker, well he's only nineteen. He ain't never had a woman before. You ain't never been with a man neither have you?"_**

****

**_"Yes sir. I have many times."_**

****

**_"No you haven't. See me and Tuck and Billy. We've been watching you in that big city. You're a schoolgirl. You ain't interested in no real men yet. That's right sweetie. We been watching you. We know you ain't never laid with no one before."_**

****

**_"Look mister. Whatever it is you have planned between me and Tuck. Please call it off. Let me go home to my mom and dad. Let me go home to my sister and brothers. They're going to miss me and when they realize that I am not coming home anytime soon they will call the police."_**

****

**_"Don't matter none. Police will never know you up here. They can look all they need to but you're ours now. We will do what we want with you and before you know it you'll like it. You'll want to make our meals and wash our clothes."_**

****

**_"I will never like anything about any of you."_**

****

**_"We'll see princess. We will see. Now I have to go upstairs and prepare the night 'fore dinner for Tucker. You rest up good tonight. You'll need all your strength for 'morrow."_**

****

**_Brad walked up the stairs leaving Piper in the cold wet room waiting for whatever fate they had planned for her._**

****

**_Piper silently pleaded, "Please God, let them find me. Let them know what is about to happen. I can't go through this. This isn't part of your plan for me, it just can't be! I want to live and I don't want these men to do to me what I know they will eventually do. Please get me out of here. Send Prue to save me please."_**

****

**_Tears fell steadily down Piper's face. Slowly she drifted into a nightmare filled sleep full of visions of the three men and the things they had said they planned for her. Halfway through the night she was awakened by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. When her eyes adjusted to the light she realized it was Billy. He knelt by her side. Piper quickly pulled herself into a ball and wriggled away from him._**

****

**_"Don't be scared. You are my special girl. I don't care if they think you are for Tuck. You are here for me. I am going to be your first even if you are Tucker's first. Is that okay?"_**

****

**_"No. I don't want to be anyone's first. Not here, not with any of you."_**

****

**_Billy covered her mouth and pinned her back flat to the ground. He was kissing her face and neck when the door opened and lights came on. Brad ran down the stairs and threw Billy off of Piper._**

****

**_"Boy, you better not mess her up before Tuck gets her. You can have her all you want after that. But don't ruin Tuck's wedding day. Alright?"_**

****

**_"Fine. Whatever. I bet there's someone out there just like her."_**

****

**_Piper thought of her sister. She knew Prue was probably thinking about her and wondering where she was. Prue would help find her. Piper also thought of her parents and other family members that would soon probably start searching for her. How in the world would they find her here in some woods in a cabin in the middle of Georgia? If that's where they were?_**

****

**_Brad stood over Piper and looked down on her._**

****

**_"I don't know what's on your mind girl, but whatever it is, forget it. I found the perfect woman for Tuck and there ain't no way for you to get away. So close your eyes, get a few more hours of sleep and we'll get started early in the morning on the rituals."_**

****

**_Piper tried to imagine what sort of chicken-killing rituals these backwoodsmen could possibly have. She figured they were probably inbred for generations back. Piper cried herself to sleep dreaming of the three men hovering above her._**

The road spread in front of them like black ice. Prue could barely think about where she was going while listening to Piper's story. Piper was only on day one of her three-week ordeal and already she was becoming lost in the nightmare all over again. Prue turned off the interstate and pulled into an empty parking lot. Piper looked a little concerned at the aspect of being parked in an empty lot. Prue saw the anxiety well up in Piper's face so she locked the doors. Piper relaxed a little. Prue wanted so much to just hold her sister but she knew that she had to let Piper finish her story. Piper closed her eyes and Prue heard her sigh.

"Day two, huh?"

"Yeah, it was possibly one of the worst of all. Actually it was definitely the worst. It was the day they hurt me the worst."

Prue laid her head back in her seat. She was not sure she could handle hearing about the horrible things that happened to her sister. The idea of someone hurting Piper the way Piper had been hurt made Prue want to kill someone. Prue knew that she had to be strong for Piper's sake though. She had to let Piper release the fear she knew she must be feeling inside.

_**Piper woke up with a small stream of light coming through a dirty cellar window. Day two had begun…**_

****

**_Piper pulled back from the ray of sun as if she could prevent the day from beginning by ignoring the light. She could hear the creaking of floorboards above her and knew that her captors were already awake. She could hear muffled voices, but was unable to make out the words. Piper's skin prickled in fear, as she perceived the sound of metal scraping on wood. She knew that they were opening the cellar door._**

****

**_She coul_****_d smell bacon and pictured it frying on a large black iron skillet on a rundown gas stove. But as much as the thoughts of things to come turned her stomach, she couldn't help but want some of that bacon._**

****

**_"Girlie! You awake down here?" It was Brad. His deep voice was light as though he were in a good mood._**

****

**_Piper pulled herself up from the ground so that she was sitting in an upright position. The handcuffs had made her ankle numb. She looked up to see the oldest of the men making his way down the dilapidated stairs. She knew that if she were going to make it through the living nightmare, she'd have to outsmart them in every way possible. She also knew that playing nice was the best start._**

****

**_"Yes sir. I'm awake," the contempt in her voice was barely suppressed as she looked up into the dark brown eyes of the oldest. He looked different in the morning light. That's when Piper realized he was clean-shaven and that he was almost handsome._**

****

**_"Yes sir, huh? Well, I like your attitude, Piper," he stroked his chin thoughtfully before leaning toward her and unlocking the handcuff from Piper's ankle. He leered at her and her breath caught in her throat. The scent of aftershave was strong in her nostrils as he leaned close to her face. She fought the urge to spit in his face, and instead she feigned a smile._**

****

**_"Did you sleep well? I'm sorry it's so cold and smelly down here…but maybe after you and Tuck are married you can sleep upstairs with us."_**

****

**_Piper's stomach ached with the terror pulsing through her veins. But she did not let her slight smile falter. She nodded and tried to stand up, falling backwards when her ankle twisted beneath her. Her foot was asleep from the lack of circulation caused by the handcuffs. She tensed when Brad put his arm around her waist and helped her up._**

****

**_"Careful now," he smiled as he looked Piper in the eyes, "Wouldn't want you to get no injuries on your wedding day."_**

****

**_It took all of Piper's strength not to cry or try to run. She knew that even if she broke free and managed to leave him trailing, the other two were waiting at the top of the stairs. She quietly thanked Brad for helping her, hating every second she pretended to respect him. She looked toward the stairs, doubtful that they could handle much weight at one time. And then the smell of bacon hit her again. It took away some of the power of his dime store aftershave._**

****

**_"Is that breakfast?" Her voice was weak, almost fragile. She hated that meek sound in her voice._**

****

**_Brad took a long look at her before leading her toward the steps. She was becoming unnerved at his glare and finally his stare relaxed, "Yeah, that's breakfast. We've got you a plate ready."_**

****

**_Piper was at least relieved for that. She was hungry regardless of her situation. She knew that eating was the best thing she could do, in order to keep up her strength and her thoughts. She let Brad lead her to the top of the stairs. She couldn't remember seeing anything of the house when they had brought her down to her prison. As she glanced about the run-down cabin, her heart sank. Everything was in view. The kitchen, bathroom and beds were all in one small, cramped room. She knew it couldn't have been any bigger than 800 square feet._**

****

**_She sat down at the small kitchen table that sat four. Brad pulled out rope and tied her feet to the chair. Her ankle hurt at the tightening of the rope, but she showed no pain. She didn't look at the men staring at her. She suddenly felt conscious of every inch of her body, wanting to cover herself with her hands. She subconsciously pulled the collar of her long sleeve t-shirt up with her hand, clenching it at her neck. She felt her skin burning hot beneath her shirt, and she knew that it was bright red in embarrassment._**

****

**_She felt the urge to fight Brad when he slipped his hand over her wrists pulling them away from their safe place against her own collarbone. He pulled her arms straight down and tied her hands to the sides of the hard homemade chair she sat in. He tied them tightly, scratching the pale skin of her inner wrists. She winced with the discomfort. Again she fought the tears. Instead she focused on the kitchen table, avoiding the lustful glares directed at her from the younger _****_two._**

****

**_The table was square with splintering pinewood. Piper surmised that it had been hand built by one of the men. She looked down and took note of several scratches in the soft wood of the table. It took only a matter of seconds before she realized that the scratches were fingernail marks. She became all too aware of the length of her own well-manicured fingernails touching the underside of the chair._**

****

**_Tucker slammed a plate filled with runny eggs and bacon down in front of her. Despite herself her mouth began to water. The smell was incredible._**

****

**_"How am I supposed to eat?" She asked in a soft, gentle tone._**

****

**_Tucker smiled at her as he picked up a piece of bacon from her plate and held it to her mouth, "It's my pleasure."_**

****

**_Piper hesitated before taking the bacon in her mouth, too afraid to refuse the food. She hated the fact that the bacon tasted better than anything she had eaten before. She watched as Brad took the chair opposite from the one to which she was tied. His eyes betrayed his actions, for they held kindness. Tucker and Billy's eyes held nothing but self-serving lust._**

****

**_They remained silent during breakfast, each man keeping a steady gaze on Piper as she ate. She tried not to look at any of them and instead stared despondently at the scratches in the table. She knew that another girl had once been where she was now. That some other girl had been at the mercy of these men._**

Prue interrupted her little sister, sensing the horrible details to come, "Sweetie. If you can't tell me tonight, I'll understand."

Prue looked into Piper's hesitant brown eyes. She tried to convey in her own blue gaze that she cared more about Piper than anything in the world, including their parents and their brothers. She did not drop her stare until Piper looked away from her. The fragile shell of a girl in front of her was not the same person she had grown up with, but Prue knew that person was somewhere within.

"Piper?"

Prue looked toward the woods at the edge of the parking lot they were in. The darkness made Prue nervous so she knew that Piper was beginning to panic. So the older of the two started the car and pulled away from the parking lot.

"We can go somewhere else. Finish talking somewhere safer."

"No where is safe to me Prue," her voice was so soft, weak even. Prue held out her hand, palm up as she guided the car onto the interstate with her other hand. She felt hopeful as Piper slid her thin hand into her own. She held Piper's hand and headed back toward their house.

"I'll be your safety, Piper."

As they neared the house, they realized neither had spoken since leaving the parking lot. Prue had so far heard nothing that wasn't recoverable. But she also remembered that Piper had said that the second day of her ordeal, the first full day, was the worst.

Together they faced their brothers, Greg and Kevin, and their parents. The rest of the family had gone home already. Prue looked at her mother with a look that said, "not yet." Her mother winked at her and kissed Piper on the top of the head before heading off to bed taking their father with her. She called out an 'I love you' to her children as did their father.

Greg and Kevin, both older than Prue, looked at Piper with embarrassed eyes. They had no idea how to comfort her, how to tell her they were sorry about whatever had happened to her. Instead they shuffled out of the room, on their way to some party. They were left standing in the living room, illuminated only by a fire that had been built in the stone fireplace.

Prue frowned as a solitary tear slid silently down Piper's cheek. Her little sister's lower lip trembled as though she were about to completely break down. Prue quickly led her to the couch, sinking into the soft off-white leather, pulling Piper down with her. Prue expected some resistance, but was shocked to feel Piper bury her face in her shoulder. As the youngest member of their family sobbed quietly, trying to hide her entire body with Prue's, Prue allowed her own tears to form. But before she released them, she quickly pulled away from Piper. She knew the teenager wasn't ready to continue, but she also knew that the time was now or never.

"Piper, talk to me. Tell me what happened on day 2."

Piper shuffled in a deep breath and then laid her head on Prue's lap. Prue ran her hand over Piper's silky brown hair. It was above her shoulders in length, but had been almost waist length when she had been kidnapped. When Piper had been found lying on the side of the interstate, bleeding, cut, bruised, and completely petrified, the jagged ends of her hair, having been cut with a knife, one of the few statements Piper had given to the police, was the least of Piper's worries.

"We finished eating breakfast, and Tucker untied me."

Prue hated that Piper had to even utter their names, but she listened, for Piper's sake.

"He took me into the living room part of the house, like I said it was all open so it wasn't like the others weren't in the same room, just a different area."

**_Tucker sat with Piper on a dirty, torn sofa. She looked around for her exits. There was only one door, and two windows. They were both blacked out with paint. Her mouth was dry as she felt Tucker staring at her. She was surprised that she had no restraints on her hands or feet, but as she looked to the door one more time she knew they weren't really worried. A brand new silver lock, a key lock, gleamed in the darkened, dirty shack._**

****

**_"You're really pretty," Tuck said, startling Piper from her observations of her confinement._**

****

**_She said nothing to Tucker and shifted away from him, moving only a few inches before she realized she was pushed against the arm of the sofa. Tucker was closer than she could stand. She could feel him wanting to kiss her as he moved his face closer to hers._**

****

**_"I need to go to the restroom," she stood as the words flew out of her mouth and as she glanced at the exposed toiletries she regretted her words immediately._**

****

**_"So go," Tucker said impatiently, pointing toward the toilet._**

****

**_Piper looked from him, to Billy and Brad. Brad's eyebrows were raised in amusement, taking away all the kindness Piper had thought she had seen in his eyes at breakfast. Billy was licking his lips as though he was going to be getting a professional striptease. Tucker looked bored, and irritated._**

****

**_"But you can see me," Piper hadn't intended to sound so feeble._**

****

**_"Ain't nothing we ain't seen before, girlie, go on," Billy demanded._**

****

**_Piper sucked in a shuddering breath. Tucker pushed her from behind sending her stumbling toward the makeshift bathroom area, which included a sink, a toilet and an antique, rust-stained claw foot, bathtub. Her hands were shaking as she found herself standing at the toilet. She managed to undo the top button on her jeans. She could feel them watching her from behind. Had she not really needed to go she would have changed her mind and stayed on the couch with Tucker._**

****

**_She felt a hand on her shoulder and instinctively jerked away. She felt a hand on the back of her hair pulling her back against a body. She then, out of the corner of her eye, could see Tucker's smile. She whimpered involuntarily. She wanted to be stronger than she had so far, but fear was an all-consuming thing._**

****

**_"What you waiting for?" His breath smelled of coffee. She turned her face away and could feel him press his body against her back._**

****

**_"I'm nervous. I can't go with all of you staring at me," Piper hoped they would sympathize._**

****

**_Tucker laughed and let go of her hair. He looked to his brother and cousin and Piper's world spun as he looked to Billy and asked, "Hey Billy, want to help my future bride? She seems to be having trouble getting her britches down."_**

****

**_Tucker backed away from Piper and snickered as Billy moved to Piper, grabbing her by the hair as Tucker had done. His body was pressed against Piper's back also, and Piper felt sickened as he reached a strong arm around to the front of her body and fumbled with the zipper on her jeans. She struggled against him, but his grip on her hair was so tight that every movement she made hurt her even worse._**

****

**_In one graceful move, Billy forced Piper's jeans and underwear to the ground around her ankles. He gave her a slight push toward the toilet and walked back to where he had been standing next to Brad. They all snickered and laughed as Piper quickly turned around and sat on the toilet. She buried her face in her hands horrified at what they were putting her through, certain that it was only going to get worse._**

****

**_When she had finished and managed to get her jeans up quickly she washed her hands. She thought the task to be useless considering the filth she was surrounded by, but it filled precious seconds, seconds she didn't have to be touched by any of the men._**

****

**_When she was finally done scrubbing her hands until they were pink, she looked around the room. Brad was washing dishes. Billy was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs simply looking her up and down, and Tucker was standing in front of her, only a few feet away._**

****

**_"Hey, Brad," Tucker looked from Piper to his brother, "When do me and Piper, here, get married and start the honeymoon?"_**

****

**_Billy shifted uneasily in his chair, "Yeah, cause as soon as my little dipshit cousin here gets a taste…I get a turn."_**

****

**_Piper's stomach flip-flopped creating a wave of dizziness that washed through her. She steadied herself by trying to listen to what her captors were saying._**

****

**_"What's this? You boys want to break tradition? She got you that hot, huh?" Brad was grinning menacingly._**

****

**_"Hell yeah she's got me hot," Tucker said pointing to his jeans. Piper didn't bother to look down, knowing what he was referring to. She felt humiliated. She felt scared. She felt somehow betrayed when Brad, laughed out loud and walked over to Tucker putting a hand on his shoulder._**

****

**_"Alright then, we break tradition and you get married to this bitch this morning. How 'bout that?"_**

****

**_Tucker let out a war whoop and smacked Piper hard on her rear. She flinched at the pain and ran for the door, slightly surprising the backwoods trio. They laughed harder when she yanked forcefully on the new silver lock. She turned around and saw that they hadn't moved. They knew she was going nowhere fast. She slid down the door and sat on the floor in a crying, pleading heap._**

****

**_Billy scoffed, "Women! They always cry on their wedding days."_**

Prue had listened to the story with a pained heart. She couldn't fathom how terrified her baby sister had been. Piper had always been shy, and to be thrown in a house with three perverted men, it couldn't have been anything but anguish. Prue had wanted to know about this so-called wedding day, but Piper had been crying so hard that after a while she had fallen asleep her head still in Prue's lap. Prue sat still stroking Piper's hair. She looked down at Piper's fingers and saw that her nails were broken, jagged. Band-aids were covering some of them where Prue knew that fingernails had been broken off too deeply.

The table Piper mentioned with the scratches on it flashed into Prue's thoughts. She looked down again and watched Piper's lids dance. She was dreaming, Prue knew. She had woken up screaming every time she fell asleep in the five days since she had been found on the side of the road.

Prue closed her eyes. She let the feel of Piper's weight lull her to sleep, knowing that as soon as Piper, who had been asleep for an hour, was scared awake, she'd be there to save the night.

Images, like fire, burned into the backs of Piper's lids. Her nightmares were never clear, never methodical. They were always a disarray of vividness: terrifying touches, nauseating smells, violent sights, atrocious sounds, and the worst, the taste of surrender. One image made itself visible as a memory as her head was slammed into the kitchen table in the rundown shack. Her fingers digging into the table, matching, mark for mark, the scratches that were already there.

She woke up screaming, instantly feeling the soft arms around her, knowing she was safe in her own house, with her own sister. But not daring to think she'd ever be truly safe again.

Prue held the trembling girl tightly in her arms, rocking her back and forth. She never wanted to leave her side again. She felt responsible, as though had she been home, instead of away at college, it never would have happened.

"It's going to be okay, Piper. We're going to get through this together." Prue's voice sounded reassuring despite her overwhelming guilt.

"The table Prue…the scratches, I have to tell you."

"Shhh…okay."

Prue wasn't surprised that her parents and brother hadn't come running at the sounds of Piper screaming in the night. They had stopped doing that the second night in the hospital, for when Piper screamed her only consolation laid in the arms of her big sister. And their parents were perfectly content to let it be that way for the time being.

"Okay, tell you what. I'll go get us some water, maybe a snack, and I'll meet you in my room. We can continue this up there."

Piper nodded, but when she turned to look at the darkened hallway beyond the living room she hesitated. Prue took her hand and together they went to the kitchen, getting bottled water and some homemade cookies. Then Prue led Piper up the stairs and into her bedroom. The love Prue felt for her sister was apparent by the dozens of pictures of the two of them all over her bedroom.

They sat Indian-style on the bed, facing one another. Piper looked more tired than any 19 year old should, and Prue felt older than any 22 year old should. She couldn't believe that there was only a three-year difference between her and Piper. Piper looked so small, so helpless.

She stopped thinking when Piper started speaking, "I remember about the scratches on the table."

Prue nodded swallowing the sip of water she had taken.

Piper continued, her voice haunted and unfamiliar, "We got married in the kitchen."

**_Piper was jerked from her balled-up position on the floor by the door of the cabin. She brought her tear-soaked eyes up to stare defiantly into Brad's cold blues. He had her by the collar of her t-shirt. He half pushed, half-dragged the small-framed girl across the floor to the kitchen where he threw her forcefully to the floor._**

****

**_"Alright, Billy. You'll be Tuck's best man, I'll be the preacher," Brad said smiling as though he was actually doing God's work._**

****

**_Piper, near hyperventilation, gripped the back of one of the kitchen chairs to help her stand. She wanted to run, to hide. But there was nowhere. Tuck stepped closer to Piper and slipped his hand into hers, gently as though he were her long-time boyfriend. The touch made Piper sick to her stomach, but she held herself together. She tried to pull her hand away from the youngest man, but instead she was pulled closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder._**

****

**_"Hey, Brad…should I get cleaned up first?" Tucker said with a frown._**

****

**_Brad looked thoughtfully at his little brother for a minute. Piper held her breath knowing that the inevitable would be delayed if Tucker were to 'clean up'. She cast a nervous glance at Billy who was staring back at her. She swallowed hard and lowered her gaze to the floor. She knew that to delay the inevitable was all she could do, because the inevitable would come in the form of one of these men._**

****

**_"Nah, ain't no need, you're going to be dirty again in just a few minutes after we wed you off to this pretty thing."_**

****

**_Piper's breath halted in mid inhalation. She felt as though she were in a bad nightmare, the world around her too bizarre to be reality. She looked down at her hand gripped tightly in Tucker's dirty palm. She looked at her fingertips, her eyes drawn to the painted red nails. And involuntarily her gaze drifted once again to the kitchen table and its marks of terror._**

****

**_Her body began to shake, while Brad held up a tattered Bible and winked at her. And, as Brad read the words aloud, words of salvation and redemption, Billy leered at her from Tucker's right side. And next to her, the kidnapper that was her age was growing visibly excited about the impending event._**

****

**_Piper wondered to herself if nineteen year olds could have heart attacks, she prayed for one as Brad said his final words, "You may now kiss the bride."_**

Prue watched in horror as Piper's tears slid incessantly down her paled cheeks. Faint bruising showed in the dim light of the bedroom lamp. Prue was not in the least surprised when Piper crawled on the bed toward her and curled herself into her arms. Prue held her again, letting their shared horror mix into a semi-state of comfort.

"Piper, if you can't talk about it, I won't make you."

Piper sucked in a stuttering breath, "I have to."

Prue nodded and rested her chin on the top of Piper's head. Piper buried herself further into Prue's arms, trying to find enough safety to continue her saga.

**_Piper screamed as Tucker pulled her tightly against him and forced his lips against hers. She struggled to get away from him. She could feel him pressing his lower body against her own and the thought made her gag. Tucker backed away from her and smiled greedily._**

****

**_"Time for the honeymoon."_**

****

**_Piper tried to run from him but only managed to run head on into Billy's chest. Brad sat with his back against the kitchen sink, watching the melee. A small sinister smile crossed his face. Piper convinced herself that she was never going to get away from them. And as that thought crossed her mind, Tucker grabbed her by the back of her jeans and shoved her against the kitchen table._**

****

**_She could feel hands on her waistband from behind. The sounds became muted and lost in her screams. Before she could get a grip on what was occurring it was already too late. Her stomach was being pressed into the table by Tucker's weight as he assaulted her from behind._**

****

**_And as his grunts and Billy and Brad's laughter echoed in her ears, she found herself focusing not on the pain, but instead she concentrated her sight on her fingernails, each one digging into the exact scrapes on the table that had been there before._**

"Oh God. Piper. I…" Prue knew that words were pointless. Her little sister's body was so wracked with grief that every muscle was tense and rigid and at the same time, lifeless. She wanted to hold Piper forever, wanted to wish away her hurt, her pain, her undeserved shame, but she knew that wishes were wasteful. Her energy needed to be centered on finding a realistic way to walk with Piper through the hell she had been in.

No more words passed as she instead lay back in the bed not once letting go of the fragile teenager in her arms. Piper willingly followed Prue's lead and settled into Prue's arms. Prue was propped up only slightly by the thick pillows. She lightly ran her hand over Piper's hair and listened as the sobs continued.

So far Piper was only on the second day of her kidnapping. Prue had trouble comprehending the fact that before lunch on the second day of her kidnapping, Piper had been savagely raped. She looked down at Piper's trembling hand wrapped in her own miraculously steady one. Again she made note of the bandaged fingertips. She hated that her suspicions were right. She hated the men who had hurt Piper, but she swallowed her anger.

Prue didn't even bother to try to hold back her own tears. To know that there was such evil in the world. To know that that evil had laid its unmerciful hand upon her baby sister, it made Prue sadder than she ever imagined anyone could be. And as Piper's sobbing slowed to a whimper, Prue knew that one person was definitely sadder than she was.

"Piper?" Prue's voice was merely a cautious whisper.

"I just want it out of my head."

Prue was shocked by the sudden calmness in Piper's tone. She had sat up again and was staring Prue in the eyes. Her face was red and blotchy from the intense weeping. Her brown eyes were hollow. Prue's heart skipped as she realized that Piper must indeed feel empty.

"That will happen in time, Piper," Prue began.

Piper interrupted her, "No! Prue, it won't happen in time. The things they did, the memory will never go away and I will be stuck living this nightmare day in and day out."

Prue had no reassuring words for Piper. She had nothing to say. She knew that Piper was right, because Prue herself would live the rest of her life seeing, on a daily basis, the things that Piper was describing.

"You're right, Piper," Prue said surprising herself, "You won't forget, and it won't ever go away. And I'm not going to tell you otherwise, because I can never know what you feel. I've never been through something like this. I don't have a clue how to save you."

Prue knew her tears must have jolted Piper back into their reality because her little sister's soul flickered into the brown eyes and Piper began to cry again. And as she cried, she curled again into Prue's arms. And Prue held on tight, terrified of losing Piper, this time, not to kidnappers, but to despair.

Piper managed to close her eyes and continue with her story. Prue's heart broke with each word, but she listened because she knew that was the best thing she could do for Piper, not to mention, the only thing she knew how to do.

_**Tucker released Piper from his iron grip as soon as he was through with her. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, bleeding and broken. Her body shivered in the drafty cabin. She knew she needed to pull her pants back up, but the pain shooting through her hands, and her hips, and her lower abdomen, made her want to sit completely still.**_

_**She could hear Tucker, Brad, and Billy laughing and high-fiving each other. "Tucker was now a man," she heard them say. Her breaths came in and out quickly, as she tried to control her sobbing. She was glad they were wrapped up in each other, as she hoped they would forget about her there kneeling on the floor almost under the table.**_

_**"Tuck! You did great, brother," Brad laughed as he laid his hand on top of Piper's head.**_

_**Billy chuckled as he grabbed Piper's upper arm and jerked her off of the floor. Piper cried out in pain as she tried to find her balance. She didn't even have to support herself, however, as Billy hung on with ferocity.**_

_**"My turn now, ain't it?" Billy asked Brad with a smile. Tucker laughed and pointed at the still half-naked Piper. Piper closed her eyes, wanting to disappear. They talked about her and around her as though she didn't even exist.**_

_**Brad laughed, "She's bleeding, you better clean her up before you use her. Tucker and I are going to town for some supplies. You two have fun."**_

_**With that, Brad and Tucker walked toward the door, leaving Piper alone with Billy. He drug her toward the claw foot tub in the cabin and threw her down on her back next to it. He reached down and slid her jeans off her legs. He then pulled her shirt over her head. The word 'no' left Piper's mouth, but sounded more like a mewl from a newborn kitten. Billy turned on the water to the tub. He let it run and fill the tub almost completely.**_

_**While it was filling, Billy had been staring intently at Piper's exposed body. Piper knew that what Tucker did to her, each of the men would do as well. She was almost glad that she was going to get to take a bath. She could only hope it would wash away the filth she felt.**_

_**When the tub was full, Billy picked Piper up off the ground like a newly married man carries his wife across the threshold. But Billy was less than gentle as he dropped Piper into the tub. Her head collided with porcelain frame and caused her more pain than she already felt. She yelped in agony as her body soaked in the ice cold water.**_

_**Billy laughed at her and then kneeled down next to her, "Time to wash up."**_

_**Piper, trying hard to not cry, picked up a clean-looking washcloth and looked at Billy. As she started washing her face with it, he stopped her and snarled.**_

_**"No. I get to wash you."**_

_**Piper's heart stopped again. She cast her glance to the walls farthest away from the tub and focused there, barely aware of what Billy was doing to her. She could hardly feel him moving the washcloth on her back, her arms, her breasts. The only thing she could feel was her heart breaking, as it concluded that she would never see her family again.**_

_**She sat quietly, without fighting, as Billy continued to bathe her. She had decided that to fight him would be to sign her death warrant. She almost wanted death, but at the same time, she wanted to live, to be safe again, to wake up in her sister's arms and be told it was all a nightmare.**_

_**She was jolted from her thoughts as pain shot through her lower body. She realized quickly that Billy had his hand in the bath water and was hurting her. Instinct won over intellect and she began to struggle with him. Every ounce of her small 5'2" frame fought him. Her hands beat against his chest and face. Her legs kicked out, missing their mark by mere inches.**_

_**She could tell by the sounds he was making that he was furious at her for fighting. Piper didn't care. She wasn't going to be attacked again. Just as she found the courage to fight back, her head was forcefully shoved beneath the surface line of the bathwater.**_

_**She struggled to get her face above the water so that she could breathe again. But Billy's hand was wrapped too tightly around her throat, choking and drowning her at the same time. Piper fought until she began to see synapses of light in her peripheral vision.**_

_**Her body betrayed her as it quit fighting and fell limp. She knew she was losing the fight. And as blackness enclosed upon her, and she felt a hand move across the private parts of her body, she knew she had already lost.**_

****

**_XXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

****

The sun projected a thin stream of light through the closed blinds of Prue's bedroom. Her eyes met the early morning with resistance. As she brought her hand to her eyes to rub away the drowsiness, she realized that her arms felt lighter. Sitting up quickly, she almost panicked when she saw that she was alone in the room. Her heart pounded in the walls of her chest as she wondered if holding her little sister the night before had been a dream and that the reality was Piper was still missing. She looked to her night stand and saw the two bottles of water, relaxing only slightly at their indications that Piper had indeed been in her room through the night.

Prue wasn't sure where to look for the heartbroken girl. Their house was moderate in size with an upstairs and a downstairs. Then it occurred to Prue exactly where Piper would be. She slipped on some jeans and a sweatshirt, followed by her slip-on Skechers. Creeping quietly through the house she made her way downstairs. She had noticed the still early hour and knew that her brothers and parents liked to sleep in on the weekends.

Heading toward the backdoor in the kitchen, Prue paused momentarily to grab a thick blanket from a downstairs linen closet. Her breath faltered as the frosty dew-filled air swept across her face. She squinted as the brightness of the morning dazed her. Regaining her composure in a matter of seconds, she looked across the large span of back yard. There in a tree, high off the ground, was their old playhouse. Prue walked slowly toward it.

The silence surrounding the house and the yard unnerved Prue. She wasn't sure why the morbid fear of possibly finding her baby sister dead by suicide had made its way into her thoughts. She increased her pace and climbed quickly up the tall wooden ladder. She was impressed with her father's craftsmanship. The tree house had held up for almost 20 years.

When she reached the top and climbed onto the sturdy porch of the play place, she let go of the deep breath she had been holding. She walked to the side of the structure where a blue door led to the interior. Prue noticed the door was ajar and figured her instincts had been right. She listened carefully before she pushed the door all the way open. Perfect silence.

Her hands shook as she gave the door a nudge and it opened all the way. She looked into the room and immediately relief washed through her as she saw Piper sitting in the corner of their childhood safe place. She was looking out the low window next to her, her knees drawn to her chest, her thin, bare, bruised arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Tears fell down her pale angelic face.

Prue debated only momentarily if she should leave, but her protective big-sister mode got the best of her. She crawled across the room to Piper and covered her with the blanket she had retrieved from the linen closet. She then slid beneath the cover next to Piper. They sat together in silence several minutes. Finally, Piper let her head fall on Prue's shoulder.

"I wanted to see how long I could stay out here, alone, before I felt like screaming, or crying," Piper said, her voice whispered and laden with grief.

Prue smiled slightly and nodded, "And how long did you last?"

"I was crying before I ever reached the top of the stairs. And I still haven't screamed."

Prue slid an arm around Piper's shoulders, "We can scream together if you want."

Piper smiled, actually showing her teeth, "No thanks, my throat already hurts."

Prue's heart absolutely melted at the appearance of Piper's grin. It had been before Piper was taken since she had seen the girl's real smile. But as much as she wanted to stay in that moment forever with that smile and her little sister, the moment was over. Piper had stopped smiling.

"What's wrong baby girl?"

Piper lifted her head off of Prue's shoulder and returned her attention to the view. Their tree house overlooked the woods behind their house. Piper shuddered and Prue knew she was remembering.

"Do you want to keep talking to me about what happened?"

Piper only nodded before taking a deep breath and beginning again.

_**As quickly as the blackness had taken her over, it released her. She heard voices, deep male voices arguing. Her lungs burned as though they were weighed down with rocks. And suddenly she felt the need to cough, intensely. So she did. As she purged her lungs of their weight, she felt water on her chin and her neck. And then she remembered. Billy had been holding her under the water, when the sweet peaceful blackness had claimed her.**_

_**She looked around the cabin with blurry eyes. Billy was sprawled out on the floor. His nose was bleeding heavily as he glared up at Brad. Tucker was kneeling next to Piper. Piper fought the urge to squirm away from him. Instead she closed her eyes and concentrated on what Brad was screaming to Billy.**_

_**"Damn it Billy, how many times we gotta tell you not kill 'em. Huh? I know you ain't stupid boy. Why would you drown her, huh? She's not even yours!" Brad **__**kicked Billy in the leg to elicit an answer to his questions.**_

****

_**Billy finally gave in and spoke to Brad, "Can't believe you hit me, cuz. Over a piece of ass."**_

_**"Yeah, well, she's not your piece to be killing, Billy. Do you know how long we hunted this one for Tuck? Too long. Now we told you that we can all have her, but we want her to live as long as possible. She's just right for the child-bearing."**_

_**Piper's newfound air halted in her throat. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "child-bearing?" She struggled to sit up and found herself being helped to a standing position by Tucker. She was ultimately surprised by his gentleness, a mercy he hadn't shown her as he had assaulted her in the kitchen earlier.**_

_**She saw stars in her peripheral vision. She wondered if it was from the seconds spent without oxygen. And as a chill passed over her body, she realized she was still naked. And the images of the previous 24 hours flooded her mind. Being taken, locked in the cellar, raped by Tucker and abused by Billy. She felt sick to her stomach.**_

_**"Uh, Brad, she don't look so good," Tuck said as they all turned their attention to Piper.**_

_**Piper felt her knees buckling and she knew she was falling, but couldn't prevent herself. Before she hit the ground, a pair of strong arms lifted her off the ground and carried her to the couch. She managed to open her eyes before allowing the darkness to overtake her again. She was staring into Brad's eyes and the kindness she had seen earlier was visible again. And then she closed her eyes again and let unawareness consume her.**_

Prue hated all three of the boys, and she especially hated that Piper felt as though Brad had any kindness in him. But she knew that before she told Piper her feelings she had to let Piper finish her story. The sun was shining even brighter than before. Prue felt Piper stiffen next to her as they both heard the sound of someone coming up the ladder. Prue knew they were both holding their breath when their oldest brother's face appeared in the doorway.

"There you two are. Got the whole house in a state of panic," Greg said smiling, his bright blue eyes shining.

Piper returned her gaze to the window, Prue smiled at Greg, "Sorry about that. We're just talking."

Greg nodded to Prue indicating he knew exactly what they were talking about. Prue thought she saw compassion in Greg's eyes and knew that was something she had rarely seen before. Growing up, it had always been like the Halliwell's had had two completely different sets of children. Piper and Prue. Greg and Kevin. Greg was 8 years older than Prue, 10 years older than Piper and had 4 years on Kevin. Basically, Greg had not been a huge part of the younger Halliwells' lives.

"Piper," Greg started to speak, his voice tempered, soft, "Listen sweetheart, I know you can't talk to me or Kevin about what happened to you, because we're men. I want you to know though, that if you ever need either of us, we're here for you. We love you and we would never in a million years hurt you."

Prue felt Piper shift next to her and was surprised to see Piper turn her face to look at Greg. Tears softened her pale cheeks. Her bottom lip was quivering. She was maintaining eye contact with Greg, a gesture Prue took to be a good sign.

Greg continued, "Whatever happened to you while you were gone, I know you can confide in Prue with it, you don't ever have to tell us what happened if you can't, that's fine. And we won't ask Prue to tell us unless you want her to tell us. Okay?"

Piper nodded but still said nothing to him. She made no movement toward him. It broke Prue's heart to see Piper so broken, so fragile, and to see Greg so helpless.

"Okay, just wanted you to hear that. Just wanted you to know I love you. We all love you."

Greg smiled again and turned to leave. Prue watched him as his shoulders sagged. He worked his way toward the door, having to stoop because the room was only 6 feet in height. Prue was shocked when suddenly Piper's voice, cracked and soft, sounded across the room.

"I love you too, Greg."

Greg looked back and nodded before continuing out the door. Prue could tell that his shoulders and head were held high as he left the tree house. She then turned her attention to Piper who was looking back at her.

"Where was I?" She asked Prue, exhausted, but determined.

_**Piper opened her eyes once again. It was much later in the day. She could tell that night had fallen. The blanket that covered her was scratchy against her bare skin. Piper hated being naked. She hated it now more than ever. She looked around the cabin and saw that she was alone with Brad. The oldest of the three men.**_

_**"How you feeling?" His voice was concerned, but Piper could tell his face was saying something else.**_

_**"Bad," it was the only response she could gather from the mixed jam of emotions and thoughts in her head.**_

_**"Tuck and Billy are hunting," he smirked.**_

_**Piper let the word 'hunting' penetrate her thoughts. She wondered if they were looking for another girl.**_

_**"Don't get excited, they looking for food. Deer season you know."**_

_**Piper relaxed only slightly knowing better than to let her guard down around any of the three men. She took inventory of how she physically felt. Her throat ached from Billy wrapping his hand around it, her legs were weak and she could feel the bruises without seeing them. Her chest ached with the residual effects of the inhaled water from the tub. And the most intense pain was that of her lower body, from where Tucker had tore into her.**_

_**The nineteen-year-old pushed the image out of her mind, knowing she needed to stay strong for whatever would come next. And as Brad stood up in the kitchen and began walking toward her, she knew that 'next' was now.**_

_**She clutched the blanket to her chest hoping to ward him off just with the power of prayer. But as his hands touched hers, she shook from within. She was still lying on the ragged couch, her long brown hair still damp in some places. Brad ran a rough callused hand over her cheek and she tried to jerk away. He seemed unfazed by her repulsion.**_

_**"I'm glad they're not here, so that you and I can spend some time alone. To talk, to make love."**_

_**Her tears were involuntary, "Please, I don't want to do this."**_

_**"It's okay, Piper. I'll be more gentle than my half-wit brother."**_

_**Piper felt her stomach roll as Brad pulled back the blanket, her only shield. He then removed his clothing and Piper turned her eyes away from him. She fought him as hard as she could as he positioned himself on top of her. He whispered in her ear as though they were long lost lovers. Piper pushed against him, struggling for breath, for freedom.**_

_**Nearly thirty minutes later, he rolled off the couch, and sat on the floor next to her, staring at her body. Piper could feel his eyes on her. But her mind was in another realm. Her mind, her wishes, they were in the tree house in her backyard, her sister was making cakes in an easy-bake-oven and their mom was calling them into the house for freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.**_

_**She was jerked back into a rude reality when a pain shot through her lower body. She looked up momentarily and saw the cold lustful eyes of Billy. She screamed as he jerked in and out of her, leaving her wanting to die.**_

_**Within several hours Tucker had taken another turn and Billy had taken his second turn with Piper as well. Piper couldn't remember being put back in the cellar but she had been. The cold hard floor was a welcomed reprieve from the warm blood she could feel on her upper legs. Her ankles had been chained to the wall once more.**_

_**Piper let her thoughts drift to her family, her warm bed, and the safety of their large house. She promised herself that night, the second night of her capture that she would find a way home again.**_

Prue was quiet until she knew that Piper was finished speaking. The look in her baby sister's brown eyes told Prue everything she needed to know for the moment.

"What do you say, we get out of here?"

"I like it here, it's safe."

Prue smiled sweetly, "Safe is relative isn't it Pipe?"

Piper nodded knowingly, "Yeah, I guess so."

"So what do you say you and I, we head to the beach house for a few days?"

Piper looked at Prue with wide eyes, "Alone?"

"Sure. We can talk there, no interruptions."

Prue watched Piper as she mulled over the idea. Prue knew that Piper wanted everything that happened to her to be talked about, that she needed to get it out of her head. But she knew that Piper was still terrified of the outside world. She knew that together they could heal. Piper would gain trust in the world again, and Prue would stop grieving the loss she felt every time she saw the emptiness in Piper's eyes.

Piper looked into Prue's deep azure gaze, "Sounds good to me, I could deal with a little beach time. But on one condition."

Prue was curious, "What condition is that?"

"You have to tell mom."

Prue laughed her first real laugh in days, but only because she knew that what Piper was thinking was right. To get their parents to back off for a few hours was hard enough, to get their mom and dad to give them space to travel four hours away was going to be a battle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prue shifted the car into drive and directed the 2001 Toyota Camry into the street. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw her parents standing in the driveway, her mother's hands clasped together at her heart. Prue knew it had been hard for them to say yes, but she had convinced them that she and Piper needed to go, needed to talk.

"I can't believe they let us take mom's car," Piper's soft voice broke into Prue's thoughts.

Prue shrugged as she turned left onto the street, "Yeah, well, I'm so utterly trustworthy and all."

"Riiight," Piper said, smiling. Prue loved her smile. She hoped it would appear more in the coming weeks and months

"So, what music do you want to listen to?" Prue asked hoping to see if Piper picked a song that reflected her mood.

Piper looked at the black CD case sitting on the floorboard between her feet. She bent over and picked it up exaggerating a groan of effort as she did.

"Geez, Prue, did you bring the entire CD store with you?"

Prue laughed and nodded as she watched the road. Piper unzipped the case and began to flip through the CDs. Prue watched as more than once Piper's hand lingered over a particular CD. Prue had made it on a CD burner a few weeks earlier while Piper had been gone, hoping against hope that it would somehow make her feel as though Piper were still there with her. It was a compilation of songs that reminded Prue of Piper and also reminded Prue of what being a sister really meant.

Prue bit her lower lip as Piper slid out the mix-CD and slid it into the car's player. Piper pressed the forward search button until she stopped at number eleven. Piper turned the volume up and leaned back in the seat as the music started. Prue felt a pang of sadness as Piper turned her eyes toward the passing surroundings.

Prue relaxed as Kelly Clarkson's "Thankful" filled the interior of the Camry. She was glad it had more of an upbeat tempo than the other songs. Prue knew that all the songs on the CD delivered the same message in their lyrics. She was thankful that Piper was her sister, and now she was more than thankful that Piper was alive, and safe at home.

_You know my soul_

_You know everything about me there's to know_

_You know my heart_

_How to make me stop and how to make me go_

_You should know I love everything about you, Don't you know_

_That I'm thankful for the blessing_

_And the lessons that I've learned_

_with you by my side_

_And I'm so thankful for the love_

_that you keep bringing in my life_

_In my life_

_Thankful, so thankful_

_You know my thoughts_

_Before I open up my mouth and try to speak_

_You know my dreams_

_Must be listening when I'm talking in my sleep_

_I hope you know_

_I love having you around me_

Prue took her eyes off the road to look at Piper. She was surprised to see Piper looking back at her. Her little sister turned down the radio and looked back at Prue.

"Did you make this CD for me, while I was gone?"

Prue frowned slightly, "Yes." She felt no need to lie to Piper after the horrifying moments Piper had shared with her about her ordeal.

"Why?"

Prue was hesitant to answer, but she knew that Piper deserved more than hesitation, "Because I missed you."

"And making a CD made you feel better?"

Prue watched the road carefully, stealing occasional glances at her little sister, "No. Nothing made me feel better until I was able to hold your hand, kid. You know that, don't you?"

Piper shrugged and turned the volume back up on the radio, sinking further into the seat. She folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes.

_Don't you know_

_That I'm thankful for the blessing_

_And the lessons that I've learned_

_with you by my side_

_And I'm so thankful for the love_

_that you keep bringing in my life_

_In my life_

_Don't you know that I'm thankful for the moment_

_When I'm down you always try to make me smile_

_Thankful for the joy you're bringing into my life_

_In my life_

Prue turned the volume back down. Piper jerked her head up and eyes open and looked at Prue with annoyance. Prue held her hand out, palm up in front of Piper. Piper stared at it perplexed.

"What do I have in my hand?"

Piper raised her left eyebrow and shook her head, "Nothing?"

"Exactly, now give me your hand, please."

Piper played along and laid her thin hand into Prue's hand still held out in front of her. Prue managed to keep an eye on the road while she watched Piper at the same time. She felt how cold Piper's hand felt. She wrapped her own hand around Piper's.

"Do you know what I have in my hand now?"

"My hand?" Piper shrugged and then she simply shook her head. Prue knew she was probably thinking a hundred bad things about herself.

"Everything, Piper. When I get to hold onto you, I'm holding onto everything. Okay?"

Piper's eyes shimmered with tears as she let Prue continue to hold her hand. With her free hand, Piper turned up the radio. Prue smiled and turned her attention full time to the road ahead.

_For the lessons I've learned_

_For the troubles I've known_

_For the heartache and pain_

_Thrown in my way_

_When I didn't think I could go on_

_You make me feel strong_

_With you I am never alone_

_Thankful, so thankful_

_Thankful for the blessing_

_And the lessons that I've learned_

_With you by my side_

_That I'm thankful for the love you keep bringing in my life_

_In my life_

_Don't you know that I'm thankful for the moment_

_When I'm down you always try to make me smile_

_Thankful for the joy you're bringing to my life_

_In my life_

_Thankful, so thankful_

Piper woke to the sounds of laughter. Her back ached as she tried to roll onto her side. The chains on her feet clanked together. She stopped moving, terrified of alerting the three monsters to her consciousness. Instead, Piper laid completely still taking inventory of her physical pains, trying not to think of her emotional ones.

Everything ached. With no clothes the cold had made her muscles stiff, and the bruising along her thighs, biceps and neck hurt more than they should have. Piper allowed herself a few tears of grief at her lost self before wiping them away and managing to sit up. She curled her bare knees to her unclothed chest and rocked herself back and forth, trying to create kinetic heat within her own blood.

She wasn't sure how long she had been awake and rocking when the door at the top of the stairs scraped open. Piper made a mental note of the noise the door made. She was making all sorts of mental notes trying to plan an escape.

"Mrs. Wilkins, you awake yet?"

Piper was confused at the name until she remembered the monstrous event that occurred the morning before. Had it only been twenty-four hours, she thought to herself, as she felt hands on her upper arms jerking her up from the ground. She fought against the pair of hands until she realized that the harder she fought the more pain she felt. She surrendered to his grip. Then she heard Tucker's voice and understood that it was his hands on her arms.

"Ready for your third day?"

Prue hadn't let go of Piper's hand. She felt closer to Piper than she ever had before, although there was a part of Piper's life that she could never completely comprehend. She listened as Piper described day three in the hands of evil. Piper described assault after assault as it took place. Prue knew that filling four hours would not be difficult.

Piper kept her eyes open as she spoke. Prue could only guess that it was so that she wouldn't feel the events she was describing. She tightened her grasp on Piper's hand as Piper grasped back, her hurt fingers and missing nails her last concern.

Piper went on to tell Prue about days four through fourteen of her kidnapping. Prue listened carefully as Piper depicted ten days of rape, humiliation and torture. Each men having their turns with Piper at least once a day. Piper had been beaten and she had been threatened again and again with death to the point that she almost welcomed it. Prue's heart ached for Piper's soul. As she spoke, Piper never took her eyes off of her and Prue's intertwined hands.

Prue made the exit off the interstate onto the road that led to the beach. They had spent three and a half hours talking about the events that transpired in Piper's absence. In three and a half hours Piper had managed to cover only the two weeks.

"The 15th day is when they did this to my hair," she said pointing to her chestnut locks.

_**Piper felt nothing as Billy finished with her and left her lying on her stomach on the floor of the kitchen. She did not dare close her eyes for fear that she would have to feel something again. She had trained herself in the previous two weeks to shut off all physical feeling while being violated.**_

_**Piper's emotions always betrayed her body. The proof was in the single tear that fell from her eye and slid silently to the cracked linoleum floor.**_

_**"Get up, Piper. Get up!"**_

_**They had taken to calling her by her first name. She felt Tucker kicking at her naked leg. She felt like a rag doll as Tucker jerked her off the floor. She wondered somewhere in her fleeting thoughts if it was Tucker's turn already. She hated him. Hated them all. The emotion burnt through her soul, giving her some hope that she was still strong enough to survive them and get back to her family.**_

_**"You know what…we do everything for you Piper and you don't do nothing for us. Brad cooks for you, Billy gives you your baths, and I love you, so tell me, why don't you do nothing for us?"**_

_**Piper's brain automatically searched for the answer that came with the less severe beating. Instead, a picture of Prue flashed into her mind and she felt the words slipping through her lips before she could rein them in.**_

_**"Fuck you."**_

_**She almost laughed as she watched Brad, Billy, and Tucker's eyes get wide with shock. But her amusement quickly disappeared as Brad slid a dirty butcher knife out of one of the kitchen drawers. He grabbed her hair into his fist and yanked hard. Despite herself she yelped in pain. She could feel his anger seethe out of his pores.**_

_**"Fuck us, huh? Dirty mouth you got there. I'd cut out your tongue but it's been useful to us all, huh boys?"**_

_**Piper's stomach churned at the thought. She felt Brad pull her hair harder and her back arched with it, trying to give slack. She felt the knife close to her back. Then she felt the knife sawing through her hair. Each movement made her scalp sting. When he was finished he held up a fistful of brown hair.**_

_**"Like cowboys and Indians, huh Brad?" Tucker said as he wrapped his hand around Piper's chin and shook her head.**_

_**"That'll teach her to mouth off," Brad said walking away with the hair.**_

_**Billy laughed as Tucker turned Piper around and pushed her, stomach first onto the kitchen table. Piper turned off her thoughts and feelings as she knew she was being violated yet again.**_

Prue moved her hand away from Piper's and moved it to the tired-looking girl's head. She laid her hand on Piper's hair and gently caressed it. Piper looked down at her shoes with sadness.

"It looks awful doesn't it?"

Prue wanted to hit something hard. She was so angry that her sister had been hurt so badly, and that she had been reduced to such an incredibly low self-esteem. But amazingly, Prue kept her calm.

"No, it looks fine. Mom did a good a job fixing the ends."

"Yeah?"

Prue smiled and nodded, "Of course."

They could see the beach looming ahead. Piper finally sat up in her seat looking at the amazing view. She stretched and yawned. The yawn was followed by her growling stomach. Prue glanced at the clock and saw it was a few hours past lunchtime. Neither of them had eaten.

Prue smiled at Piper, "Chinese food?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prue shifted the heavy duffel bag's strap to her shoulder. She was putting their luggage in the master bedroom of the three-bedroom two-bath beach house. Her stomach felt happily full from their late Chinese lunch. As she hauled the remaining bags into the room they were sharing, she realized that Piper wasn't following her anymore. She tried to not let panic become her first emotion but as she walked through the house and out to the car there was no sign of her little sister.

Prue quickened her pace as she ran through the house to the back porch that faced the ocean. Her breath was heavy and she was scared. They had been at the house for less than five minutes and already she had lost her little sister. Before she let panic completely overwhelm her, she took a stabilizing breath of salty sea air. She shielded her eyes from the glare setting sun and calmly looked to the water's edge. She couldn't believe the intense sense of relief she felt when she saw Piper standing with her bare feet in the water.

Prue went back to the car and pulled a plastic sack from the front seat. She and Piper had picked out six different videos to watch during their nights at the beach. During the nights that they weren't going to talk about what had happened to Piper.

Like a first-time mother, Prue checked again to be sure Piper was on the beach, and that she was safe. She hadn't realized that the fear of losing Piper again was so incredibly powerful. She couldn't even breathe as she thought about Piper's abduction.

She slipped her own shoes off and stepped into the warm sand that waited for her off the back deck. She almost felt relaxed as the soft gulf breeze pushed her hair to the right. She looked at the small form of her baby sister. They were only three years apart in age, but Prue felt so much older than Piper physically. As she stood next to Piper and looked into her brown eyes she knew that on the inside, Piper had matured far beyond her 19 years.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Prue nodded in agreement as she again breathed in the salty air, "It is."

Piper looked around nervously, "Kind of isolated though isn't it?"

Prue surveyed the house and it's surroundings. There was another house nearby for at least half a mile, "We can go somewhere, Pipe, if you want?"

"No, I can't run away from every little thing that makes me nervous these days, otherwise I'd be running forever, right?"

Prue shrugged, conceding that Piper's words were truth. They stared out upon the water a few more minutes before Prue, out of the corner of her eye, noticed that a tear was tracing it's path down Piper's pale face. She didn't say anything knowing that her sister needed to cry. She was surprised when Piper spoke instead.

"I need a shower. I'm dirty."

And with that Piper turned away from the ocean and trudged back up to the beach house leaving Prue to take in the view on her own. Prue hesitated for a few guilty moments as she wondered if it would have been easier on herself to not be Piper's shoulder.

She entered the cool beach house and heard the shower running in the master bathroom. She entered the bedroom to change into some lounge pants and a t-shirt, wanting to get comfortable for the next few hours of Piper's story.

After changing she sat on the bed and watched the closed bathroom door. It was thirty minutes when the water was finally turned off and Piper stepped into the bedroom with only a large towel wrapped around her petite body.

Prue's eyes fell upon her sister's many cuts and bruises, visible on her bare legs, shoulder, collarbone, neck, arms and hands. The large bruises reaching up Piper's inner thighs hypnotized her. Prue couldn't believe that such a small person could take so much maltreatment and survive.

"I need some help, Prue? Can you help?"

Prue looked up at Piper's tearful eyes and saw that she was holding a large ace bandage. She had almost forgotten about Piper's broken ribs.

"Yeah. Yes. I can," Prue said, stumbling over the few words she could gather. She watched as Piper lowered her towel to just around her waist. Piper's eyes turned away from Prue and focused on the wall beyond. Prue carefully began to wind the bandage around Piper's torso, starting at the ribs just under her breasts.

"Let me know if you need me to stop, if I'm hurting you, okay?"

Piper only nodded. As Prue continued to affix the bandage she took stock of her little sister's injuries. A small inch-long cut positioned on the side of Piper's left breast was healing without serious scarring. Prue noted it quickly without drawing attention to it. She also took note of several marks that stretched across Piper's back. She knew it had been from beatings with a belt. Piper had told her about those on the drive to the beach.

She finished wrapping Piper's ribs and Piper quickly pulled her towel back up around her upper body, fully covering herself once again. She leaned against Prue as though pulling strength from her big sister.

"When did your ribs get broken?"

**_She felt the sunshine on her face and then she felt Brad's hand wrapped too tightly around her arm. It was one of her tri-weekly ventures outside and Piper had planned her escape. She felt the butter knife in her jeans pocket, the one she had spent the last week sharpening into a good pointy piece of metal. She knew it wasn't much of a weapon, but if aimed at the right location it could cause some harm._**

****

**_Piper looked down at her clothes. They were the same shirt and jeans she had on the day she was taken, "Thank you for washing my clothes, Brad, and for letting me walk outside."_**

****

**_Brad looked down at Piper, surprised at her politeness, "You're welcome. I'm sorry your clothes are so tattered. Perhaps I can get Billy and Tucker to get you some more when they go out tonight."_**

****

**_"Thank you."_**

****

**_Piper didn't plan on being around for the nightly abuse she knew she'd suffer. It had been 19 days since she had been taken from her car in the movie theater _****_parking lot. She had prayed every single day for rescue, but it hadn't come. She knew she'd have to save herself._**

****

**_Her feet hurt as she was walking barefoot through the woods with Brad. The pain was nothing compared to the hurts she'd endured in the previous weeks. Brad had insisted on her being barefoot so that she wouldn't be tempted to run._**

****

**_Usually all three men would go on the walk, but Tucker and Billy had wanted to stay at home. Piper was thankful because although unexpected it fit perfectly into her plan. She let the sun warm her from within. Terrified and determined she continued to make aimless small talk with Tucker's older brother. She realized they had walked further into the woods than on any of their previous walks._**

****

**_"Where are we going?" Piper asked her captor casually, her calm voice not betraying her real fear._**

****

**_"I thought maybe I'd take you out to the river."_**

****

**_"There's a river?"_**

****

**_"Where else do you think we get all those fish you been eating?"_**

****

**_Piper hadn't really been focused on figuring out where her food had come from, merely on the fact that what little she could stomach had given her precious energy to survive. Twigs and briars stuck into the bottom of Piper's feet, but she continued to follow Brad obediently and quietly. Before too long, they reached the river._**

****

**_Piper almost felt the taste of freedom as the rushing water filled her with hope. She watched as the river ran past them and disappeared into a waterfall only a short distance away. A new plan formed in her mind. The river was her new best friend._**

****

**_"How far down does the waterfall go?"_**

****

**_Brad shrugged and looked lustfully at Piper, "Who cares?"_**

****

**_Piper knew the look. She felt the dread of things to come. She could feel the knife in her back pocket. She wasn't about to reach for it while Brad was staring her down. She knew she might have to endure more abuse before her escape could be made._**

****

**_Brad's voice was drenched in power, "Take off your clothes."_**

****

**_Piper hesitated for a mere second, knowing the punishment she would get for doing so. But she still wasn't about to give in to them. She saw the hand. The back of Brad's right hand swung furiously to her face and her body fell to the mud by the river. The ache in her cheek was unbearable as stars began to flutter about her head._**

****

**_She rolled onto her back staring up at the oldest captor. Involuntary tears hovered on her cheeks as cold mud seeped through her shirt. Brad shook his head and frowned down at Piper._**

****

**_"See, made me dirty up your clean clothes, you brat."_**

****

**_Piper didn't even see his foot rearing back to kick her and was too late to stop him as she felt the pain burn through her sides. She rolled with the kick and felt the edge of the water on her face. She jerked her head back knowing what had to be done. Before she could reach behind her and pull the knife from her back pocket, Brad had turned her on her back again._**

****

**_She struggled beneath him, fighting him off with one hand while trying to retrieve her makeshift weapon with the other. He ripped open her shirt. She was pinned against the ground, angry with herself for crying as he ran his hands over her body. Somehow she found the strength within to battle back harder than ever. Before Brad could hurt her again, Piper kicked him in the groin sending him reeling backwards. She was on her feet in a matter of seconds, her hand grasped tightly around the sharpened butter knife. She quickly stabbed it into his belly and ran._**

****

**_Piper Halliwell ran with all her strength into the river. The water was cold but felt good mingling on her bruises and cuts. As she got closer to the middle of the river, she could feel the current picking up. She was washed toward the waterfall. She could only pray that it wasn't as long of a drop as it sounded. She tried to look back at Brad to see if he had gotten up. But there was no sign of him that she could tell._**

****

**_She saw the edge of the waterfall coming up. She tried not to scream as the force of the water pushed her downward, spiraling toward freedom. She collided at the bottom of the 20-foot drop with more rushing water. The river was faster at the bottom of the fall and it carried Piper forcibly into a large rock. She hit the protrusion with so much force that she could feel her ribs cracking. Somehow she managed to stay awake as she floated effortlessly down the river._**

****

**_Piper wasn't sure how long she had been in the water or for what distance, but she knew that she was tired, and hungry and that it was getting dark. She was too afraid to get out of the river so she continued to drift aimlessly. Before too long she felt the ground beneath her and realized the current had led her to the shore._**

****

**_She pulled herself out of the water in her bare feet and began to run as fast as she could through the dark woods. Every sound she could hear other than her own breathing and footsteps made her sick to her stomach. She ran faster and faster, almost sure that her legs would fall off. Branches reached out and tore at her skin and her already frayed clothes. And then she felt it. Like hot coals under her feet, she felt the warm black Georgia asphalt. She was on a road, a paved road._**

"I guess I passed out from relief and that's when someone found me and called the ambulance and then you came and got me from the hospital."

Prue couldn't believe they had reached the end of the terrible tale. The horrid things her sister had been through, the awful treatment and the inhumane abuse set her heart afire with rage. But she calmly held Piper in her arms and reassured her everything was going to be okay again.

"When, Prue? When will it be okay?" Piper asked, her eyes still full of innocence despite the torment she had suffered.

"I don't know baby girl, all I know is that I'm going to be here every step of the way, okay?"

Piper nodded and looked at her clothes. Prue knew it was a sign for her to step out of the room so that Piper could get dressed into her pajamas. Prue kissed Piper's forehead and exited their bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Piper felt relieved that she had been able to tell the entire saga to Prue. She quickly put on her sweat pants and t-shirt eager to take comfort again in Prue's arms in front of the television with some ridiculous comedy in the VCR. She opened the door and walked into the living room. The site before her made her stumble in fear. As she kept her balance, she knew it was real.

Standing in the living room were her three kidnappers. Billy was holding Prue close to him with a hunting knife to her throat. Piper could read the panic in her eyes and knew that Prue's panic was for her baby sister and not herself. Brad frowned at Piper as though she had hurt his feelings, while Tucker smiled.

"Hey there Wifey, think you'd never see us again?"

Piper heard a whimpering sound and became conscious that she was the one making the sound. She tried to smother her fear by maintaining her gaze with Prue. She swallowed hard and began to feel sick as the smell of the three men reached her nostrils. She was concentrating so much on Prue that she didn't feel Tucker step next to her until he was striking her to the ground.

She landed on the hardwood floor of the living room with a thud. Pain shot through her upper body as her ribs registered the contact with the floor. She heard Prue cry out and managed to see her struggling against Billy. Prue was making a valiant effort to get to Piper but was no match for Billy or his hunting knife.

Piper backed away from Tucker. She wound up with her back against the wall and nowhere to go. She wanted to do nothing but curl herself into a ball and disappear within herself, but the sound of her sister's voice kept her in the awful reality that was her life.

"Piper!" She kicked backwards at her restrainer, "Let me go, you asshole!"

"Is this where you get your language from, Piper? Your big sister here? Maybe we should teach her the lessons we taught you. What do you think about that?" Brad asked as he grabbed Piper's chin in his hand.

Piper pulled her head back and catapulted herself off the ground. She charged at Brad surprising him with her sudden ferocity. She hurled herself against them forcing them both to the ground. Her body ached with the movements but her mind was filled with adrenalin. She wasn't going to stop until he was dead.

She felt a pair of strong hands around her upper arms and then felt her body being lifted off of Brad. She kicked at him with her feet but was pulled too far away to make contact. She was virtually thrown across the room landing hard against the coffee table. She could hear Prue cry out her name again. And then blackness consumed her.

Prue could only pray that Piper would open her eyes soon. She struggled against the ropes that held her firmly to the dining room chair. She took her eyes off of the unconscious Piper, who was also bound to a chair, and looked with disgust at the three men in the kitchen of the beach house. They were making dinner.

"Hey, Billy, what do you say you take Piper's sister here and make her your wife?" Tucker said, laughing.

Billy looked Prue up and down before walking over to her. She felt a cold chill run up and down her spine as he put a hand on the back of her neck and dragged the edge of his knife across her throat. She wondered how many times her baby sister had felt that same atrocious touch. She focused her eyes on Piper. She looked so incredibly small slumped over in the chair. So small.

"I'd do her," was all Billy had to say before walking back to Tucker and Brad in the kitchen.

Prue felt relief that he hadn't tried anything with her. It gave her more time to deliberate an escape plan. She needed Piper to be awake. Awake and ready to run.

"May I have some water please?" Prue asked in a gentle obedient voice trying to buy time..

Brad smiled at her, "She does have manners after all. Tuck, fix the young lady a glass of water, will ya?"

Tucker looked through the cabinets for the glasses. After finding one he filled it to the rim with water. He took a sip before lifting the glass to Prue's lips. The thought of drinking after him made her stomach churn, but she didn't want to make him angry. She relished the cold water drinking it quickly but Tucker took the glass away before she was through drinking.

"Boy, you're a thirsty thing aren't you? Must be the beach air, huh?" Billy asked.

Prue simply nodded. She winced as Tucker yanked Piper's hair back bringing her face clearly into view. Her eyes were still closed. Prue watched as Tucker shook Piper's head and then poured the rest of the glass of water onto Piper's face.

The darkness gave way to wetness. She felt herself being pulled from the peaceful serenity of sleep to the volatile realization that it hadn't all been a nightmare. Her older sister was sitting across the table from her, tied to the chair. Without thinking Piper looked down at the table, half-expecting to see fingernail marks in the cherry wood. She sighed when she realized there was none. And she breathed in a huge gulp of air as Prue mouthed "I'm okay" to her over the table.

"Wake up Piper. Don't want to miss the show do you?" Tucker asked untying her from the chair while Brad untied Prue.

"What show?" Piper asked not wanting to know.

"You haven't heard the news? Your sister here's going to marry me," Billy declared.

Piper couldn't stop the look of horror crossing her face. She looked at Prue pleadingly, hoping for a sign that Prue had an idea for escape. The men pushed the sisters toward one another. Prue immediately pulled Piper tightly into a hug. Piper let Prue's strength seep into her for a mere second before pushing Prue away, a plan forming in her thoughts.

"Piper?" Prue asked astonished by her sister's sudden hostility.

"Get away from me, Prue," Piper spat out, her voice laced with venom.

"Piper? What are you doing?" Prue was more than confused and frightened.

Brad, Billy and Tucker looked on in shock as Piper stepped toward Prue, her finger pointing in her face.

"You think that I want to be here with you? Huh? Do you? You think I want you to marry one of my men? You whore! You aren't worthy of them. Do you hear me? You aren't worthy!"

Prue ran into the kitchen being chased by Piper. Prue grabbed a butcher knife from the counter and pointed it toward Piper.

"Look little sister, I don't know what in the hell is going on with you, but these are bad men. They hurt you, don't you remember that?"

The three backwoods boys laughed and cheered on Piper as she and Prue danced around one another. They moved into the kitchen crowding the girls.

"No, you told me they hurt me. I know better than that now. They love me. And they will never love you that much," with that Piper made a leap at Prue knocking her to the ground. Piper could tell from the look on Prue's face that she wasn't sure if this was part of a plan or not. They wrestled with one another for a minute, Piper knocking the knife to the floor next to Prue's head. She grabbed it and raised it high above her head.

She then whispered one word "Thankful" before quickly standing, turning and driving the knife into Billy's gut. Billy in turn dropped the hunting knife. Prue scrambled off the floor and scooped up Billy's knife before Brad or Tucker could get to it. She felt a sharp kick to her ribs but managed to hang on to the knife as she rolled.

Piper swung the butcher knife at Tucker, slicing him across the chest, drawing blood but not a fatal injury. Prue had gotten to her feet and the two Halliwell sisters stood side by side in a stand off with the remaining two men. Billy was fatally wounded. Piper looked down only briefly to take some satisfaction in seeing the life slowly bleeding out of him.

She sensed rather than saw Tucker making a move toward her. She quickly struck out at him with her knife and felt it sink deeply into his throat. She had managed to take out to of the men. Brad looked down sadly at Tucker and Billy.

"You bitch, you killed them," was all he said through a face of unadulterated anger.

Prue stepped in front of Piper, protecting her from Brad. Brad had no weapon, and still he charged the girls who both held knives. The three of them tumbled to the kitchen floor. Brad on top of Prue and Prue on top of Piper. When finally the struggle stopped and silence filled the house, Prue realized that Brad was gone. He had run, escaped. She then removed herself from Piper and realized that the butcher knife was protruding from Piper's shoulder.

"Oh god, Piper? Are you okay? Piper?"

Piper looked up at Prue and, without hesitation, she began to weep. Prue pulled the telephone down from the counter and dialed 911 but not before taking Piper into her arms and holding her tightly.

Piper's voice was weak, but certain as she looked around at the bloody mess, "I want to go home."

Six months had passed since the deadly showdown in the kitchen of the beach house. There had been no sign of Brad. Prue had transferred to a college in their hometown so that she could be close to Piper who had decided to take a year off from school in order to deal with the nightmare she had been through. Her wounds had healed without difficulty.

She and Prue were safe at home and with each other. The woods didn't disturb Piper as much as they once had, and she and Prue had even spent the night in their tree house. Piper still never wanted to be alone with the ever-present fear that Brad was out there.

Prue had nightmares almost as regularly as Piper, but never with the same intensity. Piper knew she would never, ever forget the three weeks spent in a cabin in the backwoods of the Georgia Appalachian mountains and she knew she would never stop wondering where Brad was hiding and frankly, neither should you. One day when you take a shortcut on a dark stretch of highway, you never know who might be waiting, ready to get you.

THE END


End file.
